Offence registered in railway guard assault case

Nagpur: Dhanraj Gawandey, 39, deployed as guard on Gondhni-Amla-Nagpur goods train sustained a serious injury on his left knee after being hit by a piece of brick on April 12 at the outer signal near Gaddigodam’s Gurdwara. Government railway police (GRP) lodged an offence against unidentified persons on Thursday after recording the guard’s statement. The cops were, however, puzzled by Gawandey’s reluctance to report the matter.Gawandey, now recuperating at the railway hospital, told the railway cops that he was hit by the brick when he had stepped out of the cabin to check the movement of the train, which was ferrying cars in its wagon, when the locomotive slowed down before entering Nagpur railway station. The injured Gawandey was helped by his colleague, who had come to join duty, and rushed to the hospital. A surgery is scheduled on Gawandey on Saturday.
The GRP, acting on a TOI report published on April 14, approached Gawandey for his statement after which an offence under section 152 of Railways Act for hurling objects towards moving trains and section 353 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for causing obstruction to government personnel in discharge of his duty has been registered. The cops have several questions in the complaint by Gawandey, who was returning from Amla when the incident took place.
A senior officer said some facts need to be unearthed. He added it was unlikely for a brick to hit the lower part of the body of a person on a moving train. “The guard claimed he had informed Railway Protection Force (RPF), but there was no report anywhere. GRP was not informed by any other agency too, despite such a serious incident having taken place,” said the officer. “Moreover, there are pebbles along the tracks. It was not clear from where the brick appeared. The guard also claimed to have seen no one,” he said.
Earlier, TOI had learnt from reliable sources that Gawandey was thrashed by some miscreants, who boarded the train when it slowed down near the signal at Gaddigodam. The location is known to be a notorious spot for various crimes targeting railways and its passengers or properties. “In cases of attacks or assaults, the railway employees and their unions turn vociferous but no one seems to be coming forward with a complaint of this incident,” said an experienced GRP official.
According to RPF sources, there is no record of any effort by Gawandey to report the matter.
Superintendent of police, GRP, Nagpur, Rajiv Jain said he is looking into the incident. “The media informed us and we have taken action. The matter needs to be probed thoroughly. In fact, it was GRP which insisted that an offence should be registered,” said Jain.